Natural Fibers..Hemp Clothing

[Monk]

I have seen on the web a bit about Hemp hats and such items. Hemp comes from that green little plant that ....well, folks do naughty things with.
I was able to examine a sample of the hemp material and it's a bit like linen or canvas depending on the sample you get.

Any thoughts on using hemp for clothing? Apparently before WWII it was used in a lot of things but for some reason it seems to have fallen away. Just thought it might be worth a look at.
Monk

 

[Tantalus]

Yes it is the cannabis plant, it is not so wee either

Recent innovations have allowed them to breed virtually drug free varieties, and as an alternative crop it is coming back into favour

Before WW2 (and availability of cheap cotton) it was considered vital, so much so that Hitler ordered all farmers in Germany tp grow so many acres each

It is much like linen, other uses included ropemaking sailcloth, sack material and clothing

Dont bother picking any you see growing in a field it smells looks and feels like the real thing, it just doesnt do anything to you

I get the feeling those of you who are interested will try it anyway, so I am gonna say "told you so" right now and get it over with

Tant

 

[tanto]

First off all i want to make clear that the hemp we use today to get fibers does not get you high becouse of the very low THC content. Its too bad that this exellent material and one of natures strongest natural fibers still is looked on as something suspect.

Funny you mentioned canvas. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis. 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin. By comparison, Hemp is 4 times softer than cotton, 4 times warmer, 4 times more water absorbent, has 3 times the strength of cotton, is many times more durable, is flame retardant, and doesn't use pesticides. Fifty percent of all pesticides are used on cotton, yet cotton uses only 1 percent of the farmland in the U.S!

I always ask for hemp products when shopping to show that that there is a market for it. Im planning on buying a Tilley hemp hat just to support their choice of material.

Best Regards

 

[steve a]

There is a shop in Camden that sells hemp products including a whole range of clothing and its very good.
At work we grew a number of experimental crops a few years ago, it was grown to be used to produce a durable paper to print bank notes on.

 

[Buckshot]

Can it be woven into waterproof material like ventile?
Might be worth looking into if it's quiet as well.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Firewyre]

Not directly related to the clothing/cloth questions, but it's also one of the fastest growing of crops and absorbs more carbon dioxide than most other plants - so it's actually good for the environment too (relatively speaking).
That, and we can grow it here, not import it like cotton. *shrugs*

 

[Monk]

Thanks everyone!
I too, have Buckshot's question in mind..could it be woven tightly into a fabric similar to Ventile?

Can anyone recommend any places that sell hemp clothing and hemp fiber ?

What is it like wearing hemp clothing..just like cotton or linen....the breathability of the hemp material?
Thanks!

 

[Toddy]

Hemp, like linen, just feels, *clean*. On it's own it's cool and comfortable in the heat. Worn under wool it's the non chaffing interlining that stops the damp wool lying directly on your skin. They are excellent together.
Tightly woven like ventile? I think there might be problems, cotton is an incredibly fine fibre and relatively short. Linen and hemp are long staple fibres and this is a feature of their success. Nettles *could*, maybe be used for it though, again, a short staple length on the fibres. (remember, the stuff we pull off the stalks is long but it's being held together by the nettle skin; when retted free nettle fibres are usually only between 2 and 4 inches long.)
Fibres can be bought from
http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk
the direct link to plant fibres is
http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/plant__fibres.htm
Hemp for spinning, braiding, etc., is bought in stricks and costs about £15/16 a kilo, but you can buy much smaller quantities.
I last bought hemp cloth from Germany......haven't actually looked for it in the UK recently; if anyone has a source I'd be interested too,
Cheers,
Toddy